MST3K 814 - Riding with Death
The Movie Synopsis The ever-so mellow Harvard law grad (uh huh) and Intersect agent Sam Casey (Ben Murphy) is in a satellite explosion and the radiation turns him invisible (just go with us on this). He gets a wrist watch that keeps him visible, and he can use it to switch back and forth. (It is underused). He is given two assignments by Heywood Floyd, his boss: since this tv product was slapped together during the energy crisis, the first is to transport a revolutionary new fuel a few miles down the road via tractor-trailer in order to invoke (in a sheer firestorm of topicality) the then-current fad triad of trucking, CB bloviation and whimsical country music (in the form of one Buffalo Bill, played by Jim Stafford). Alas, the inventor of the chemcal plans to have Casey killed and sell the formula elsewhere for "ten mill". "Some gal" named Abbie also gets kidnapped and must be rescued. Later, Casey and his guest star (Jim Stafford - again!) must team up once more (remember how good it was last time?) as race car pit crew members / substitute drivers to stop elusive terrorist Robert Denby (Ed Nelson, from MST's Bloodlust), from blowing up a race car with "deutrium". Don't miss the riveting discussion of competing styles of New England journalism in the last few minutes of the second episode. Information *This movie was pieced together primarily from two episodes of the short-lived 1976 television series Gemini Man, plus some footage and sound effects from the 1970 science fiction film Colossus: The Forbin Project used for establishing shots at the beginning. The episodes used were titled "Smithereens" and "Buffalo Bill Rides Again", with a common element between these two episodes being the guest appearance of country singer Jim Stafford as Buffalo Bill. *These two episodes were stitched together after the fact with dialog added in that refers to Dr. Hale, Robert Denby, Driscoll's moustache, and Buffalo Bill's change in career. The scenes where Abby appears to watch from a computer room were also added in from another episode in order to explain her absence during the latter half. * A scene from the pilot episode was also added during the first half of the film in order to explain the origin of Sam Casey's invisibility. In this flashback, Driscoll was played by Richard Dysart instead of William Sylvester like in the rest of the film. * When "Carl" cuts Ben Murphy's brake lines, the only result would have been immobilizing the truck: Murphy would have been unable to move. Air brakes on trucks are designed to lock up if there is a compressor or hose failure. * Along with Steven Bochco, another name under the "created for television" credits which should be noted is Harve Bennett . Like Bochco, Bennett would move on to bigger and better things: in Bennett's case, producing the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_(film_series) Star Trek movies] in the 1980s. The Episode Host Segments * Prologue Mike was once a teppanyaki chef. He tries to make an ornate meal for the Bots, in the process cutting off Crow's own hand to serve to him. * Segment 1 The Camping Planet is under fire! Pearl calls the Satellite crew for air support, and Mike proceeds to make the biggest baking soda bomb possible. He not only takes out the enemy army, but planet #3. Brain Guy makes a disturbing nurse. * Segment 2 Inspired by the movie, Tom writes and performs a song, The Funky Seventies. As usual, he completely misunderstands everything, but still tries to save the sketch with with an even more inappropriate song about the Fifties. * Segment 3 Tom somehow acquires another new body. This time, it is that of a truck driver. His butt is disturbingly flat, and he disturbingly loves it too much. * Segment 4 Crow is now a new superhero...Turkey Volume Guessing Man! He can tell you how many turkeys it takes to fill up a space. Mike accidentally steals Crow's thunder. * Final Segment The SOL crew tries to figure out what the movie was actually about. Pearl calls in to alert them to her medal ceremony for her actions on the planet below. She gets so many medals she can't hold her head up and ends up being unable to steer the Widowmaker. * Stinger Buffalo Bill expresses enthusiasm. Other Notes *Camping Planet becomes the third and final planet Mike destroys, following Deep Ape and The Observers home planet. Quotes & References *''"Hey college boy!"'' The bar patron with this line resembles the unstable Captain Quint from director Steven Spielberg's Jaws. *''"I'll have a Poppa Burger with cheese... Fries..."'' A fairly standard order from an A&W burger stand. A Poppa Burger is a double-meat, double-cheese hamburger. *''"And Mickey Mantle's new liver is transported across the country!"'' Baseball legend Mickey Mantle suffered from alcohol-induced cirrhosis of the liver and received a liver transplant in 1995; there were accusations of favoritism due to the speed in which he was matched with an organ donor. *''"I'd like to dedicate this song to my friends in the Posse Comitatus!"'' Posse Comitatus is an American white supremacist group. *''"Not actually Murray, but an incredible simulation." "Oh, Murray."'' Murray Slaughter was a character on a popular 1970s TV show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The phrase also reflects the ads for 70's musical Beatlemania with their catchphrase "Not the Beatles but an Incredible Simulation!" *''"I'll be your candle on a pile of papers..."'' Parody of the song "Candle on the Water" from the Disney film Pete's Dragon. *''"It's Alan Smithee's number!"'' Alan Smithee is a name used by directors who wish to distance themselves from a film. The fictional nature of the name matches the fictional phone number shown on screen (with the telltale 555 prefix). *''"Goodbye Sister Driscoll'' Parodies a line in "Sister Disco" from the Who's Who Are You album. Notes *Jim Mallon's final appearance as Gypsy. *Segment one reveals that Crow was made from scavenged molybdenum. Category:MST3K Episodes Category:Season 8 Category:'As Seen on TV' Category:70s Movie